Month: May 2023

Adams Cemetery, Molalla, Oregon

/ robbinsroots / 3 Comments

About half way between the city of Molalla and Feyrer Park where the 2023 Robbins Reunion will be held, is Adams Cemetery Road, which runs past some farms and up a hill to the large Adams Cemetery.  That cemetery is where Jacob and Sarah (Spilman) Robbins and many of their descendants rest.

Being only a 5-minute drive from Feyrer Park it would make a great stop, coming or going, to the reunion. 

According to the Oregon Historic Sites Database (http://heritagedata.prd.state.or.us/historic/) the Adams Cemetery was established in 1865 and Sarah (Spilman) Robbins was said to be the first person buried there.  From family stories we know that Jacob moved the bodies of his young sons who died in 1852 at the end of the Oregon Trail to the Adams Cemetery once it was established and their graves are marked today.  The property was deeded to the Adams Cemetery Association in 1921 by William Adams and Lloyd Shaver.  Other portions of the property was deeded to the Association in 1938 by Alfred Shaver (the Shavers were Robbins descendants).

Among the children of Jacob and Sarah in the Adams Cemetery are:  Harvey Robbins (1833-1925), Levi Robbins (1835-1921), Thomas Robbins (1836-1913), Martin Robbins (1838-1921), Oliver Robbins (1840-1933), Theodore Robbins (1844-1952), and Aaron Robbins (1847-1852).

To find the graves of Jacob and Sarah and some of the older Robbins burials, enter the cemetery through the gate, drive straight ahead towards the flag pole, then turn right and drive through the grove of trees.  Many of the oldest family graves are on the east side of the road, though there are many other relations throughout the cemetery.  Here is rough map from FindAGrave:

And here are several photos from the Adams Cemetery:

Jacob Robbins (1809-1896)
Sarah (Spilman) Robbins (1812-1865)
Levi, son of Jacob and Sarah Robbins

Jacob and Sarah Robbins with their two sons who died at the end of the Oregon Trail in 1852; son Martin Robbins in background

Portraits of Jacob Robbins (1809-1896)

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Of all the grandchildren of Jacob and Mary Robbins of Kentucky, the third generation, the one individual who seems to have had the most photographs taken, is Jacob Robbins (1809-1896).  This was the Jacob who married Sarah Spilman and emigrated with his family to Oregon in 1852 along with his cousin Nathaniel Robbins and his family.

That multiple photographs of Jacob were taken is a testament to his long life as he lived until 1896, long after photography became common place.  His wife Sarah, on the other hand, died in 1865 and only one known photograph of her exists, as also occurs with his cousin Nathaniel Robbins, who died in 1863.

Here is a summary of the six photos or drawings I have of Jacob and Sarah Robbins and who originally shared the photos with me (all three contributors have since passed on).

Jacob and Sarah (Spilman) Robbins (Margaret Davis, Yakima, WA)
Jacob Robbins (Margaret Davis, Yakima, WA)
Jacob Robbins (Patrick Masterson, Port Orford, OR)
Jacob Robbins (Lloyd Robbins, Vancouver, WA)
Jacob Robbins (Lloyd Robbins, Vancouver, WA)
Jacob Robbins (Patrick Masterson, Port Orford, WA)

If anyone has additional photos of Jacob and Sarah Robbins, or of anyone from that generation – children of William Sr., Absalom, James, Jacob Jr., Mary Chastain, Martha Chastain, and Margaret Robbins, I’m always happy to get a scanned copy!

[Jacob Robbins-Jacob Robbins-Jacob Robbins]